


What Ifs

by Tatchez



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Developing Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Heartbreak, Love Confessions, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Rejection, Secret Identity, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28456986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tatchez/pseuds/Tatchez
Summary: What if everything they had ever wanted, was standing right there in front of them, but they had been too blind to realize it?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	What Ifs

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. I've been gone for a while! I've been going through a lot in my personal life, and have had NO will to write at all. I had some regrets about Letting Go as well, and lost inspiration, but now that things in life are (hopefully) starting to look up--I will try to write more and give you guys a proper ending. 
> 
> This is a Marichat story that I actually started writing almost a year ago, but I am hoping that you will still get some enjoyment out of this. Maybe it will help give me some inspiration as well? The show not running right now is also making my creative juices nonexistent.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

When Adrien awoke that morning, he did not expect this. He had figured he would go to school, fencing practice, maybe save the day, and a photo shoot—like usual. Instead, currently standing before him was his good friend Marinette; who he could have sworn just told him that she was in love with him. Perhaps he hadn’t gotten enough sleep due to the akuma that attacked late last night. 

Rubbing his eyes to make the illusion disappear, he asked, “I’m sorry, can you repeat that? I don’t think I heard that quite right.”

Marinette’s countenance began to faulter, nerves wracking her small frame causing her to tremble. Adrien had never seen her this uneasy before, which made him start to realize maybe he hadn’t heard her wrong, and the error in asking her to repeat herself. She confirmed it when she spoke the words shakily, “I-I said, I... I’m in love with you.”

Despite the way each word quivered, they were still able to strike their intended target, though just off the mark, piercing him in the stomach. The discomfort in his gut grew in intensity as he watched her already anxious face twist into a look of regret, knowing what Adrien’s answer would be. The expression she wore grabbed the arrows made of words in his midsection and twisted them sharply; continuously twirling around painfully. 

“Marinette,” Adrien said softly, hoping that the pity and guilt didn’t drip too thickly into his voice. Unfortunately, it seemed as though it had; Marinette quickly taking a few hurried steps back from him in response.

Waving her hands frantically around her, tears beginning to gloss her eyes, she spoke in a broken tone, “Ah, don’t worry about it, I understand!” She choked down a sob, and the pain in Adrien’s stomach started to slither up into his chest. 

“Marinette, wait, please,” Adrien pleaded, but for what reason? Why should she wait? He was going to turn her down, but making her know the reason why, was it for her sake or for his own? Either way, he was going to rip her heart out. The thought made him sick to his stomach. The words she spoke earlier still wiggling with life inside of his body, disrupting his body’s normal rhythm.

“A-anyway, sorry to bother you,” She croaked, tears freely falling from her eyes without her permission. In a haste to hide her heartbreak, she spun on her heal and made a mad dash for her home—leaving Adrien drowning in an ocean of his own guilt.

Giving himself a swift smack to his forehead, he exclaimed, “I handled that so badly! I messed up...” 

Plagg took the opportunity to poke his head out from under Adrien’s shirt, and his nose into Adrien’s business, “Yeah, you kind of did.”

Shooting his kwami a scornful look, he pressed, “Well, what was I supposed to do? She caught me off guard.” 

He took a moment to look towards the grey sky that loomed above his head, his feet still glued to the front steps of the school. It was reminiscent of the day they first became friends. The sky was grey then too, and their relationship delicately hung in the balance just as it did now. Back then, he had been worried about getting her to like him, and to be her friend. Back then, he never would have thought that they would be in the very same place some months later, with her telling him just how much she did like him. 

Marinette was in love with him. He could hardly believe it, though it brought light to some of her word vomit in front of him, and her stuttering. Adrien had always just chalked it up to her getting flustered easily, but he now realized he was the cause of her getting flustered in the first place. 

Taking one last deep unsteady breath, he turned back towards the school. His fencing practice was about to start, and he really didn’t want to add getting scolded to this already terrible day. Breaking his friend’s heart was enough stress for one day. 

“Well, tomorrow is going to be as awkward as imitation cheese if you don’t make up with her.” Plagg mentioned but retreated fully back inside of Adrien’s shirt. Adrien grimaced. He knew that Plagg was right, but how was he supposed to fix it?

“I know, Plagg, but how? It’s not like I can go up to her and say, 'Hey, I’m still turning you down, but I should have done it better instead of freezing up. Here, let me do it again'.” Adrien said, mocking his own voice in a lower, more exaggerated tone. Plagg snickered, sounding much like the cartoon dog, Muttley. 

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, but why exactly are you turning her down? Is it still because of Ladybug?” Plagg questioned quietly from the safety of the shirt concealing him while Adrien made his way to the locker-room. 

Adrien knew Plagg wanted him to move on from Ladybug, and part of himself wanted to as well. She was amazing in every way. His ideal, dream girl, but she didn’t feel the same way. Quite frankly, he was tired of being hurt and of wishing for more, but he didn’t believe that going out with Marinette just because Ladybug didn’t love him was the answer. Marinette was an amazing girl as well, who deserved someone who was devoted solely to her. Something that Adrien did not think himself capable of doing--at least not at the moment.

Just as Adrien was about to answer his kwami regardless of looking like he was talking to himself, “Adrien Agreste!” Someone called out firmly. 

Mr. Davencourt stood with his arms across his chest, his foot tapping in displeasure and impatience. Whoops, he better hurry.

“Coming, sorry!” Adrien yelled out then rushed into the locker-room to get dressed into his fencing gear.


End file.
